Songwriters 'Completely Exonerate' Avril Lavigne

Two songwriters who had accused Avril Lavigne of plagiarizing their song now say she did nothing wrong.

Tony Dunbar and James Gangwer had filed a lawsuit claiming the hit “Girlfriend,” by Lavigne and writing partner Luke Gottwald on her album The Best Damn Thing, was ripped off from the 1979 song “I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend” by Dunbar and Gangwer’s new wave group the Rubinoos.

But in a statement Tuesday, Dunbar and Gangwer said: “We are satisfied that any similarities between the two songs resulted from Avril and Luke’s use of certain common and widely used lyrics. We therefore completely exonerate Avril and Luke from any wrongdoing of any kind in connection with the claims made by us in our lawsuit.”

The statement follows the disclosure that a confidential settlement had been reached in the federal lawsuit filed by Dunbar and Gangwer.